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 The Mussels cow |
The Manneken Pis or the delicious "Moules
Frites" are popular Brussels icons. During the FIAT/IFTA conference,
Brussels streets, squares and galleries were invaded by a troop of funny
cows dressed up by local artists. Our colleague Billy Segal, from IBA
(Israel), has catched one of them.
- See
more pictures of the Brussels Art on cows exhibition |
The 2003 FIAT/IFTA World Conference took place in Brussels, Belgium, between September 6th and 9th and was jointly hosted by VRT and RTBF. Both our hosts were celebrating their 50th anniversaries, thus giving the theme of television history to the Conference.
The Conference took place at the Hotel Metropole, one of Brussels' finest and most historic hotels, which proved an excellent choice, both for its comfortable conference facilities, the helpfulness of the staff and the splendid buffet lunches.
In terms of organisation, this was possibly the best run conference ever, the credit for which goes equally to Erik DeGroef and the VRT office team, led by Katrien Everaert, and to Alain Goossens and the RTBF technical team, who ensured a problem-free series of presentations in the conference hall and workshop room. FIAT/IFTA owes great thanks to our hosts VRT and RTBF for their support for the conference.
The receptions and excursions were also brilliantly organised, appropriate and highly enjoyable. There was something every night. On the opening evening we walked the brief distance from the Metropole to the historic Grand Place, where we enjoyed a tour and reception at the Town Hall, including a welcome by the flamboyant Mayor of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans. The fact that a beer festival was being held in the Grand Place at the same time added to the sense of occasion.
On Sunday night, the Television History Day was wonderfully complemented by a film history evening, courtesy of the Cinematheque Royale, which provided a fascinating screening of restored gems from the first half of the 20th Century (with a skilful live piano accompaniment), followed by a reception. We are grateful to Gabrielle Claes and her staff for their hospitality.
The Monday night reception was also linked to the conference theme of the day, as we followed a discussion of European and International Projects with a visit to the European Parliament, which included a tour of the building, a presentation of the holdings of their archive and a reception. Thanks to our colleague Mauro Zaccaria for setting up the visit and to the European Parliament for their generosity.
Finally, on Tuesday night was our Award Ceremony and closing dinner at the Colonial Palace in Tervuren., where the presentation of the FIAT/IFTA Television Archive Award to our Russian colleagues and the New Media Award to BBC Scotland was followed by a meal fit to mark the end of an excellent conference. Further thanks are due to Belgavox (Philippe Fannoy) for their significant support of the conference. The conference was attended and appreciated by over 180 delegates from all over the world. Fortunately, despite the umbrella being a major symbol of Brussels, the weather favoured us most of the time. Above all, it was good to meet both old and new friends at the conference and we now look forward to our next gathering for the General Assembly in Marseille in October 2004. |
 Steve in Brussels, portrayed by Richard Creutz, YLE |
Last update : 01/03/06
© 2006 - FIAT/IFTA